The Tate Gallery, opened 1897.

The Tate Gallery

In 1890 the wealthy industrialist, Henry Tate, offered to fund the construction of a separate Gallery for British works of art. After lengthy negotiations, a site was selected a mile away from Trafalgar Square, at Millbank, and the Gallery opened in 1897.

The new gallery was officially known as The National Gallery, Millbank, or The National Gallery, British Art. However, it soon became known as The Tate Gallery. The majority of the British pictures were transferred to the Tate Gallery, and only a selection of works remained at Trafalgar Square. At first, the Tate Gallery was under the administration of the National Gallery. In 1954 the Tate was formally established as an independent institution.

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